These delicious and simple cupcakes will hopefully become one of your recipe favourites. They are topped with an amazing chocolate buttercream frosting, using Callebaut chocolate ( HERE UK/HERE IRELAND)

Love Jinny & Jo

Ingredients

• 175g Self Raising Flour

• (If using Plain Flour add 1 tsp of baking powder too)

• 1/2 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

• ⅛ Tsp Salt

• 150g Caster Sugar

• 100g Light Brown Sugar

• 55g Cocoa Powder We use Plein Aroma (uk stockists HERE IRELAND/ HERE UK )

• 125g Cooled Boiled Water ( I do use grams for my liquids)

• 50g Vegetable Oil 

• 50g Unsalted Butter

• 2 Large eggs approx 130g

• 1 Tsp Vanilla 

• 2 Tbsp Buttermilk ( you can make this with 2tbsp milk and 1/4tsp lemon juice or vinegar. wait for 10 mins until curdled, its then ready to use)

  Buttercream

• 230g Softened Unsalted Butter

• 500g Icing Sugar

• 2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder 

• 1/2 Tsp Vanilla

• Ganache

• 1 Tbsp Cooled Boiled Water

  Ganache

• 150g/ml Double Cream

• 200g Chocolate ( I used Callebaut Chocolate)

  
  

  Method

  Pre-Heat your oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3/325F and pop your  liners to your muffin tin. I RECOMMEND NOT USING THE FAN SETTING FOR CUPCAKES

  Combine the flour, bicarb, baking powder, salt, & sugars together until incorporated. 

  In another bowl whisk together your water, oil, eggs, vanilla & buttermilk.

  Add your butter to your cocoa powder, and heat this together in the microwave. This enhances the flavour of the cocoa powder.

  Place your dry, mixed ingredients into your bowl ( you can use a stand mixer or do this one by hand, it’s so super easy) and gradually stir in your wet, along with the cocoa and melted butter, until all the ingredients have fully incorporated. 

  Pour this  into a jug, as the batter is very wet and tip evenly into the cases. I fill mine approx ¾ full.

  Place into the oven for 19-22 minutes depending on your oven these times may vary. Grab a cup of tea and ask someone else to do the washing up!!! ( it’s worth a try)

  Cupcakes will be done when there is no wobble and a toothpick comes out clean.

  After 3 minutes remove from the tin and cool on a rack.

Buttercream

Cube your butter up into small squares. You can do this from the fridge or room temp butter. The harder the butter the more time it will need in the microwave. This is a guide, if it is not completely firm or room temp, just do something in between.

From Hard

• 15 seconds in the microwave, then stir

• then a further 10 seconds, stir again

• If it is not ready only use 5 second bursts now.

From Soft

• 10 seconds in the microwave, then stir

• then further 5 second bursts until it is ready.

You are looking for the butter to be no hotter than 30C/84F, the butter should look the consistency and colour of thick custard. It should not turn florescent, if it does just keep stirring until it comes under 30C and has that creamy look.

Add the sieved icing sugar, cocoa powder and ganache, you can do this by hand in a bowl or on the mixer.

By Hand

• Using the back of the spatula push backward and forwards into the buttercream to smooth it out. This will also push the butter and icing sugar all together. Once it has become very smooth it is ready.

• (Use this for the second part of the Mixer method too)

Mixer

• Add the butter, cocoa powder, vanilla & ganache into the bowl and using the paddle mixer on LOW, allow the mixer to partially combine the two. There should be some faint hints of icing sugar around the edges of the buttercream. If you combine it too much, air will begin to be pushed into the mix, causing those pesky bubbles!!!! The mixer should not be on longer than 1 minute.

• Now use the spatula like above ( in ‘by hand” to make it all come together)

Ganache

1. Pour the cream over the chocolate and with pop into the microwave in 30 second bursts until melted or you can use a double boiler.

2. Slowly stir them together until all shiny and combined.

3. Refrigerate once cool until needed, then add to the buttercream, as above.